HOLLYWOOD IN BOOTS: J.R. SANDERS' A KILLING WAY

Even though there are three books before it, winning both Spur and Shamus awards, I discovered J.R. Sanders' thirties private eye Nate Ross through the latest, A Killing Way. I was hooked with a premise of Ross being hired by my favorite silent era cowboy actor to locate a work by my favorite cowboy artist. The book itself hooked me on the series.

Nate's buddy and sometime sidekick Dusty brings him to the mansion of the retired star William S. Hart, who established much of what we know of the western film. His portrait ,painted by the legendary Charles Russell before the artist died, has been stolen. He knows the culprit, cowboy extra Ty Jones,. The only problem, Ty died in a much talked about gunfight the day before.

What makes Sander's story work is the thirties Hollywood Nate, Dusty, and Nate's faithful and massive dog, Monte, travel through to find Ty's believed accomplice and the painting. Much of it is the Gower Gulch area where cowboys traded ranch work for studio work as stuntmen and extras in westerns. Some cling to the cowboy code, while others succumb to Depression era desperation. Nate hits the watering holes, one room apartments, and the Columbia Drug store where these men wait to hear of work on the pay phone. These men with between two times provide most of the book's humor and historical detail.

Hart embodies the Hollywood of an earlier time. Sanders portrays him as a man stoically surviving the changing movie industry that has left him behind. He clings to those who visits, displaying grand gestures of friendship. He tries to live by the values of his films. He may be an old ham, but one with true heart. He brings much of the book's emotional tone and poignancy, especially at the end.

I had a fun time in Nate Ross' Los Angeles. Sanders portrays the history within history of a unique company town through the perspective of its working class denizens. He also captured what was admirable about the real life figures of Hart and Russell. I hope to carve out time for Nate's previous cases.